Posted on 12/05/2009 1:45:59 PM PST by SandRat
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Some of the repairs included a turret handle, door bracket, fuel leak, an air tank leak and a transmission that shifted intermittently.
Spc. Brett Bonina, 101st Engineer Battalion, spent some time working with the Iraqi Soldiers on the equipment. He showed them how to use available resources to fix various problems. Bonina, along with another battalion welder, Spc. John Clarke, helped fix a door problem by welding on a bolt to screw the new locking mechanism in place.
"You are not always going to have the right part when you need it. Sometimes you need to be creative and think of something else that will work," said Bonina.
This was Bonina's first time working with the Iraqi Army, and he found it to be a worthwhile experience. He enjoyed working with the Iraqi Soldiers to help them get their equipment fully mission capable.
"Our mission here is to give them the help they need to support themselves. They've got the equipment, now they need the knowledge," said Bonina.
Sgt. Fouad, a driver for the 6th Iraqi Field Engineer Regiment, has attended three training classes with the U.S. forces. He was pleased that by the end of the course all of their equipment was up and running.
"Working on the vehicles together was good, this was a better class than just learning how to operate the equipment, we fixed our problems together," said Fouad.
Staff Sgt. Frank Lopez has taught many courses to Iraqi Soldiers. He spent some time during this course teaching them how to order parts needed to repair faults.
"This was a nice change of pace; we worked together, and they are really into it," said Lopez.
With some creative problem solving skills and teamwork, both the U.S. and Iraqi Soldiers were pleased that all of the Iraqi equipment was up and running by the end of the course. Having fully mission capable equipment is integral to the Iraqi Army successfully completing its mission.
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